# Development

Welcome to the Open Notebook development documentation! Whether you're contributing code, understanding our architecture, or maintaining the project, you'll find guidance here.

## 🎯 Pick Your Path

### 👨‍💻 I Want to Contribute Code

Start with **[Contributing Guide](contributing.md)** for the workflow, then check:
- **[Quick Start](quick-start.md)** - Clone, install, verify in 5 minutes
- **[Development Setup](development-setup.md)** - Complete local environment guide
- **[Code Standards](code-standards.md)** - How to write code that fits our style
- **[Testing](testing.md)** - How to write and run tests

**First time?** Check out our [Contributing Guide](contributing.md) for the issue-first workflow.

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### 🏗️ I Want to Understand the Architecture

**[Architecture Overview](architecture.md)** covers:
- 3-tier system design
- Tech stack and rationale
- Key components and workflows
- Design patterns we use

For deeper dives, check `/open_notebook/` CLAUDE.md for component-specific guidance.

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### 👨‍🔧 I'm a Maintainer

**[Maintainer Guide](maintainer-guide.md)** covers:
- Issue triage and management
- Pull request review process
- Communication templates
- Best practices

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## 📚 Quick Links

| Document | For | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| [Quick Start](quick-start.md) | New developers | Clone, install, and verify setup (5 min) |
| [Development Setup](development-setup.md) | Local development | Complete environment setup guide |
| [Contributing](contributing.md) | Code contributors | Workflow: issue → code → PR |
| [Code Standards](code-standards.md) | Writing code | Style guides for Python, FastAPI, DB |
| [Testing](testing.md) | Testing code | How to write and run tests |
| [Architecture](architecture.md) | Understanding system | System design, tech stack, workflows |
| [Design Principles](design-principles.md) | All developers | What guides our decisions |
| [API Reference](api-reference.md) | Building integrations | Complete REST API documentation |
| [Maintainer Guide](maintainer-guide.md) | Maintainers | Managing issues, PRs, releases |

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## 🚀 Current Development Priorities

We're actively looking for help with:

1. **Frontend Enhancement** - Improve Next.js/React UI with real-time updates
2. **Performance** - Async processing and caching optimizations
3. **Testing** - Expand test coverage across components
4. **Documentation** - API examples and developer guides
5. **Integrations** - New content sources and AI providers

See GitHub Issues labeled `good first issue` or `help wanted`.

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## 💬 Getting Help

- **Discord**: [Join our server](https://discord.gg/37XJPXfz2w) for real-time discussions
- **GitHub Discussions**: For architecture questions
- **GitHub Issues**: For bugs and features

Don't be shy! We're here to help new contributors succeed.

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## 📖 Additional Resources

### External Documentation
- [FastAPI Docs](https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/)
- [SurrealDB Docs](https://surrealdb.com/docs)
- [LangChain Docs](https://python.langchain.com/)
- [Next.js Docs](https://nextjs.org/docs)

### Our Libraries
- [Esperanto](https://github.com/lfnovo/esperanto) - Multi-provider AI abstraction
- [Content Core](https://github.com/lfnovo/content-core) - Content processing
- [Podcast Creator](https://github.com/lfnovo/podcast-creator) - Podcast generation

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Ready to get started? Head over to **[Quick Start](quick-start.md)**! 🎉